Oliver Thatcher Watson
This film is absolutely amazing in almost all aspects. It has a fantastic story, great acting, really good performances, amazing soundtrack, etc. This film is truly a classic that represents the life of the young rock legend himself, Ritchie Valens. I think this film is well put together and well done. The story itself is absolutely great, as it really does delve in to the life of Ritchie pretty perfectly. The acting is also very great. As well as the performances in this film. The soundtrack was well composed and recorded. And it just sounds fantastic. I will be honest and say, while Lou Diamond Phillips did an fantastic job playing Ritchie Valens, that it did kind of seem a little off putting because of the fact that Lou Diamond Phillips and Ritchie Valens look absolutely nothing alike. So it was kind of hard for me to believe that I was watching the rock and roll legend himself that Lou was playing as. But after getting used to it after a short time, i'm able to look past that, and truly enjoy the film. This film is fantastic and I recommend to anyone who's a fan of Ritchie Valens, or 50s rock and roll, or anyone, really, as this film will not disappoint in the slightest. I was pleasantly surprised, and I think anyone who hasn't seen it yet will be as well.
grantss
Interesting subject, but execution is often quite flat or hammy.The story of Ritchie Valens, the teenager who rose to fame in the late-1950s with hits like "Donna", "Come On, Let's Go" and "La Bamba". Interesting subject, as Valens was one of the pioneers of rock 'n roll. His story is also a tragic one, and well-known as such, due to the plane crash that took the lives of him, Buddy Holly (surely one of rock 'n roll's greatest losses) and The Big Bopper. The day the music died... (to quote Don McLean).The musical side largely lives up to expectations - good tracks, well-performed and with some great nostalgic moments.However, the personal side is quite uneven. Particularly bad is the brother angle. This seems overblown and over-dramatic, and is certainly not helped by an over-the-top, hammy performance from Esai Morales.Too many scenes which are dull or cringingly hammy.Overall: worth watching from a music history perspective, but you'll have to get through some dull/hammy scenes and acting to get to the end.
SnoopyStyle
It's a biopic of the young rock & roll singer Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) and his legendary life. It starts in 1957 with Ritchie and his mother Connie Valenzuela (Rosanna DeSoto) working as farm laborers. His brother Bob Morales (Esai Morales) comes with his ill gotten gains to move the family to Southern California. Bob's girlfriend Rosie (Elizabeth Peña) comes along eventually getting married. However Bob gets more abusive and turns into a drunk. Ritchie plays in a garage band, falling for Donna Ludwig (Danielle von Zerneck), and catching the eye of record producer Bob Keane (Joe Pantoliano).Written and directed by Luis Valdez, this is a fairly straight forward biography. The style is simple. The music is rocking good. It's one of the best performance of the early Lou Diamond Phillips. Rosanna DeSoto and Esai Morales also put in good performances. The character Donna needed a better actress, but overall the performances were good. It's a rock solid movie.
Marta Fdez
La Bamba film tells the true story of the musician Ritchie Valens, a Mexican guitarist and singer known for being one of the pioneers of the Chicano rock movement. He unfortunately died in an airplane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper at an early stage of his successful career at the age of 17, becoming a legend of 50s rock and roll.The movie goes through the relationship of Ricardo Valenzuela with his family and his girlfriend from school Donna, for whom he wrote a song which was the a-side of his second and last single. The film focuses on the tense relationship that Ritchie Valens has with his step brother Bob and with his mother who favored him (the younger brother) over Bob.Bob, who sees the upcoming success of his brother, keeps drinking and trying to find a way in his life, which includes taking care of his wife and little baby. The film also reflects the start of Bob's future career as a cartoonist. What a talented family!! The main character is played very well by Lou Diamond Phillips, who does a really good act playing the guitar. Another highlight to his brother Bob who captures very well his frustration.One of my favorite moments in the film is when Ricardo Valenzuela goes to Del-Fi record studios with his manager Bob Keane, and sings "Come on, let's go" sixty times, until Bob Keane considers he has the perfect recordings for mixing it. Bob Keane suggested he change his name to one more commercial, turning it into Ritchie Valens.Another remarkable moment is the concert in a theater, where there are performances of Eddie Cochran, Jackie Wilson and Ritchie Valens, who in this concert plays La Bamba. Eddie Cochran is played very well by Brian Setzer, who is the front man and guitarist of the rockabilly group The Stray Cats. I think the scenes of the audience could be done better, the audience is strangely overacting when the musicians show up and play.Ritchie Valens songs were recorded for the film by Los Lobos. The soundtrack also includes other songs from the 50s.It's a very nice and enjoyable biopic!
AD
